Private detective costs Orwigsburg more than $1,300; no official reason given

ORWIGSBURG - A private detective from Orwigsburg was hired at a cost of $1,368 to conduct an unspecified investigation earlier this year for borough officials, according to information obtained by The Republican-Herald.

The newspaper obtained the information as part of a Right-To-Know request filed Aug. 13 after learning the detective was hired.

Anthony Carroll, a private detective, submitted the invoice, which does not specifically mention the reason for his services.

"I'm reluctant to give you any information on this," Carroll said, adding information should come from the borough.

The newspaper requested "financial records related to employment contracts pertaining to the hiring of private investigator Anthony Carroll and related minutes approved by the Orwigsburg Borough Council," as part of the Right-To-Know request.

In response, borough Manager Mike Lonergan said the related meeting minutes do not exist. Lonergan also said he authorized Tamulonis to hire the detective.

He cited a borough ordinance that he said permits him to do so: "All complaints regarding services or personnel of the borough shall be referred to the office of the manager. He, or an officer designated by him, shall investigate and dispose of such complaints, and the manager shall report thereon to council."

"He was paid by the solicitor and we in turn paid the solicitor's bill," Lonergan said Tuesday.

Lonergan said he and Tamulonis met with Carroll in early June.

He said he would not say why Carroll was hired because it is a personnel manner.

A complaint against Officer Scott R. Davis was filed by a borough resident in early May, Lonergan said. However, borough officials would not confirm if the investigation was related to Davis, who recently tendered his resignation from the borough's police force.

Council President Michele Rudloff also would not say this week why Carroll was hired, but said the complaint was discussed in executive session.

"We do investigations if it warrants that," she said.

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said Wednesday that the council didn't necessarily deal with the issue appropriately.

"I think they could have handled this situation better," she said.

Melewsky said the approval of the expenditure of the money for Carroll should have been done at a public meeting.

"The discussion can happen (in executive session) but the action should happen at a public meeting," she said, adding that borough ordinances do not override the Sunshine Law, which allows for citizens to have access to information which is to be discussed at public meetings.

Melewsky said it would be up to a judge to decide if there was a violation of the Sunshine Law.

Lonergan declined to comment on the statements made by Melewsky.

The borough accepted Davis' resignation at its Aug. 14 meeting. His one-sentence resignation letter was taped to the borough office door July 8. It stated Davis would resign effective Sept. 6.

Lonergan said Davis is still on the payroll as of Monday.

Davis could not be reached for comment by The Republican-Herald. Lonergan said he contacted Davis to tell him a reporter from The Republican-Herald wanted to speak to him about the issue, but Davis has not contacted The Republican-Herald about the matter.

Mayor Austin Scandiber said Monday he was surprised at the way Davis resigned.

"If you're going to resign come face to face. Why it was done this way I don't know. ... Every now and then he just seemed dissatisfied with certain things," he said.

Scandiber said he also didn't know if anyone asked Davis to resign.

An unidentified member of the public questioned council about Davis and "the investigation" at the Aug. 14 borough council meeting. The man, who did not provide his name, said he filed a complaint. Lonergan acknowledged a complaint was filed but gave no details of the nature of the complaint.

At that meeting, the borough council authorized TC Investigations to perform background investigations on police officer candidates. Lonergan said in an email to The Republican-Herald that he did not believe it was within his scope to "hire people to conduct background investigations" and thus the council took action.

After the Aug. 14 meting, borough council Vice President Susan Murphy said the situation with Davis was "handled according to the requirements of the collective bargaining agreement. The issue is a moot point because he resigned."

Rudloff said borough residents should be assured the police force provides good service to the residents.

"The focus should be on them getting quality police services," she said.

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